26:20:63N 17:09.53W Aproaching 24 hours at sea 23rd November 09
The Snark on The ARC
Ben Little
Mon 23 Nov 2009 11:56
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Hi Folks,
I am sure we have loads of great photos of the
start line to show you but right now we are all hands to the boat pushing South
West under 2 reefs in the main and about half the Genoa but we are still getting
9 Knots or there abouts. Our average speed since a very slow start is well
over 8 knots and we are on the way to achieve a 200 Nautical Mile day which will
be a first.
We started the ARC in fair weather with Northerly
wind, the massed start was tricky, we crossed the line as one of the first boats
but suffered greatly from dirty air and ended up mid fleet. It is not
really a race but you know when there are 2 boats on the water pointing in the
same direction it is inevitable. We put up our repaired Spinnaker and shot
off I was really impressed how we cut through the field. We had a dicey
moment with a swan of similar size to us who kept trying to cut across our bows
(after stealing our wind first). we then sailed into the night having
dropped the yellow sail as the wind came up to 20 Knots, it has been there or
above through the night with the seas building, hence our reefing. We
still seem to be catching boats though less often as the fleet spreads out, and
perhaps some boats are taking a more aggressive approach to sail plan. We
caught a boat a couple of hours ago which was carrying full sails to our reef, I
think they would not be comfortable.
Julie if you are listening maybe a few knots less
wind around the forecast 13-18 should do it, rather than the 25+ we are getting now.
Not all is going to plan, sleep is difficult with
the boat pitching heavily and with additional hands needed on deck to tack and
change sail plans. I will have to go up the mast and re-rig the lazy jack
system which came down when we were reefing. It is hard work and a softer
nights sailing would be appreciated, however I think we will have at least
another 24=48 hours of this type of wind. Not to be deflected from our
plan we had a great brunch of Spanish omelet. From a packet but the stove
is pitching rather a lot and I think I may have lost the mixture a few times for
a hand made one. Looks like pasta for Supper as I doubt that we will want
to catch and gut a fish.
Here are some statistics
Average speed
8.4Knots
Peak speed
15.7 Knots
highest sustained speed 12.6
Knots
distance in 24
hours 190-200 miles
(estimated)
location you can see from the map
keep checking in your messages are great to
receive
bye for now
Ben
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